Would like to know whats this & if i am alone..?

_plastic · 22-08-2009, 06:58 PM

I had this course at uni were we have so many presentations to do.Where i should stand up in front of the class , talk and analyize things and do more talk about the subject i choose.

I have forever feared doing presentations but never let that fear stand in the way.Always challanged myself to do them all.And managed'em all.

But even though i study well for my presentations & consider all the little details to answer almost any question I'd be asked I'd shake so hard, difficult time breathing & short breathing & being very confused & distracted , add to that my heart beating so very fast to the point i feel it in my ears!

My mate Khalel once told me that he has never seen somebody shake so hard in their life.He said : you shake like a washing machine.

I get the same thing when i have to diall and call anyone,it's even worse when it comes to breathing.But i don't let it hold me from calling anybody.

Ok,what is this / should i be worried?

It's kinda got worse over the past years.

Thanks for reading

Heidi Tiger · 22-08-2009, 07:01 PM

It sounds like anxiety/panic attacks to me. I'm the same with presentations although I physically can't do them. Phones are difficult too, I normally write a script with all the information I have to convey on it.

Breathing exercises and meditation type things can be useful for combating it. But what is worth bearing in mind for uni si that mental health problems count as a disability and they have to make reasonable adjustments. So if doing presentations are too much for you you should be offered an alternative (I normally am allowed to do written work or just present to my lecturer and no one else).

whirlpools · 22-08-2009, 07:04 PM

I have this problem too, and I only really realised recently - I'd been so used to it from having it my whole life. Then one day I thought, I'm pouring sweat, shaking hard and bright red. Nobody else is.

Heidi's advice is good.

_plastic · 22-08-2009, 07:06 PM

Oh that,mental health sucks here.

I mean it.We have a social worker who does nothing but talking to guys ,flirt & have coffee.

Thats all the support we have.

I read about the breathing exercises and tried to do them so hard but no success and no improvement at all.

I read about an exercise : take breathe through the nose count to two then get the air out through your mouth and do again.

It usually leaves me with headaches and worsening shaking/heart beating & breathing.

My lecturer used to stare at me an say stuff like :would you like to stop now?

And i refuse cuz that means lower grades .

Thanks for the reply =)

_plastic · 22-08-2009, 07:07 PM

Quote:

I have this problem too, and I only really realised recently - I'd been so used to it from having it my whole life. Then one day I thought, I'm pouring sweat, shaking hard and bright red. Nobody else is.

Hope you are doing better now Laura x x

22-08-2009, 07:10 PM

could you go on anti-anxiety meds? i have found they help me out a lot with that type of thing. take care.

_plastic · 22-08-2009, 07:15 PM

wouldn't want to rely on meds too much.

I'd like to do this on my own?

Is that possible?

I don't doubt that it would help.But the thought that i would rely on meds isn't very nice to me.Especially i am at uni,...it's part of my studying.&& i face that in calling poele by phones/cellphones too,it's very frequent..

_Mariana_ · 22-08-2009, 08:44 PM

just wanted to say i do that too. end up stroking my arm a lot of the time also which probably doesnt look too professional! or occaisionally swing completly the other way and do the presentation (or oral exam) in almost a trance. very calm and controlled but i honestly could not tell you a word id said afterwards.

glad you do the preperation for the presentations. just wondered - is it the presenation or the questions afterwards that are the worst to deal with? could you maybe ask someone beforehand to ask a sepcific question you know the answer to if you have student led discussion? xx

Sunshine · 22-08-2009, 11:30 PM

i get like that! i never used to, i used to be really confident and fine with talking in public, i used to act from a very young age but i find talking and being myself is harder. anyway im babbaling, i think its just fear and anxiety and i have no advice really because it happens to me but just letting you know your not alone. although what you experience sounds pretty though, probably a lot worse then what i experience.

xxx

sazybel · 23-08-2009, 01:25 AM

yeah presentations are horrible if they're alone i try and talk my way out of them but if you get to do them in pairs i offer to write them and then do one or two slides depending on how many there are still not nice but less to do than when alone

~Kaytee~ · 23-08-2009, 03:49 AM

Oh your so not alone. I get like this as well. I actually have a presentation to do in about 5 weeks and I'm already crapping myself about it >_> I don't know if it's worth it to have a chat to the teacher about it or not. I don't know. Same with phone calls *hugs* I have no advice.. but, good on you for still doing them. I always try to chicken out and get out of them in some way :P But I'm trying to challenge myself this time around and am going to make myself do it. I'm just so scared about it hehe. All the best x

_plastic · 23-08-2009, 12:07 PM

*group hug*

The thing is that i am after done with the activity (weather presentation/phone call)it would still take me ages to calm down and breath properly.

BigBear good luck with your presentation.Try no t to think about it too much if it'll make you feel wose.

Would be thinking of you x x

88shelz · 23-08-2009, 02:35 PM

yes i too believe it to be panick attacts
take deep breaths when they happen and try to focus on things that make you feel safe

_plastic · 23-08-2009, 03:28 PM

Hmm..

I didn't think it should be taken that seriously?

I'll try harder..

Thanks Shelz hun *snuggles*

~Kaytee~ · 24-08-2009, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by _plastic

*group hug*

The thing is that i am after done with the activity (weather presentation/phone call)it would still take me ages to calm down and breath properly.

BigBear good luck with your presentation.Try no t to think about it too much if it'll make you feel wose.

Would be thinking of you x x

Thank you so much xxx

I know the feeling. It takes me ages to calm down as well. I get the shortness of breath and end up rushing through my presentations because I just can't control the breathing. I've been watching closely, the people doing theirs, and they are totally fine from what I can see =[ Usually I'd be shaking all over as I sit back down in my seat and have to control my hands shaking and arghh. Not cool. *hugs*